Feyenoord left disappointed after 0-0 draw against Heerenveen in Rotterdam
Feyenoord was left disappointed on Saturday night as they drew 0-0 with Heerenveen in De Kuip. The Rotterdammers started this weekend top of the Eredivisie but have lost that spot with this result.
Feyenoord was playing their first home game of the season in De Kuip with an attendance of 47,500. They were coming off a very successful first Eredivisie Matchweek, which left Feyenoord top of the league before the matches earlier in the evening. Heerenveen drew 0-0 with Sparta Rotterdam in their first match.
Feyenoord dominated possession as expected; Heerenveen sat back and hoped for a counterattack. The Rotterdammers started the match, all guns blazing, with newly signed center-back Jacob Rasmussen heading the ball onto the crossbar after only a minute played.
Feyenoord had another big opportunity in the first ten minutes of the match, as left-back Marcus Pedersen put his shot wide of the goal after receiving a pass from Fredrik Aursnes.
Feyenoord did not create much in the rest of the first half, with Heerenveen succeeding in frustrating the Rotterdammers with their stoic defensive display.
Heerenveen came out of the dressing rooms with a lot more confidence and started to attack Feyenoord, resulting in a big chance for defender Joost van Aken who failed to capitalize on a rare mistake by Feyenoord goalkeeper Justin Bijlow.
It was not until the dying stages of the match that Feyenoord started to create as a couple of golden opportunities went begging. After 85 minutes, Jens Toornstra did not take advantage of a lucky deflection landing the ball right into his path as the legs of Andries Noppert saved his volley.
In the 95th minute of injury time, Feyenoord debutant Santiago Gimenez could only volley over the bar with the goal at his mercy. Replays showed that the young Mexican striker struck the ball with his shin rather than his foot.
Feyenoord face RKC Waalwijk next Sunday night as Heerenveen who will be buoyed by the result today travel to Vitesse in Arnhem.